How Shinty Is Played « Shinty How Shinty Is Played How Shinty Is Played Shinty is a fast, physical contact sport played outdoors. The object of the game is to score goals. The full Rules of Play for shinty are contained in the Camanachd Association’s byelaws , but variations to these rules, mainly to do with numbers in a team and the dimensions of the field of play, exist for women’s shinty and for children and young people. In men’s shinty there are 12 players in each team – one of whom is always the goalkeeper. In women’s shinty and in some competitions for children and young people, there are fewer players in the team and the pitch dimensions are smaller. Each player has a caman, or curved stick, and it is with the caman that the small leather ball is struck. A well-struck shinty ball can travel over 100 metres at very high speed. Competitive shinty is organised into league and knock-out cup competitions at various levels and grades.

In the men’s game the most coveted trophies are the Camanachd Cup, first played for in 1895 and in women’s shinty the ultimate competition is the Valerie Fraser Cup . Both these events take place in September each year. Internationally shinty is only just developing but an annual match between shinty and the Irish game of hurling (Camogie when played by women) – which have the same historic roots, although each has evolved in its own way – takes place in October. A composite set of rules has been agreed between the Camanachd Association and its Irish counterpart, the Gaelic Athletic Association. When shinty is played The Camanachd Association is supportive of shinty matches being played on any day of the week in circumstances where a team involved in any individual fixture/ game indicates acceptance of the chosen day, if it is other than a Saturday. If an open competition/ league is known to require play on a day other than a Saturday then those entering a competition will be made aware of any variation in expected day of play at the time of entry.

Shinty - a cross between hockey, lacross & ice hockey - sport Scotland | scottish Or in Gaelic - "iomain" or "Camanachd" (prounounced yi-mane and ca-man-achd) Introduced by the Irish over 2,000 years ago with Christianity. Official Shinty Website: Shinty is unique to Scotland and one of the oldest games in the world. The game is similar to games such as hockey and lacrosse in some aspects and has historical roots with golf and ice hockey. As with lacrosse the game is a fast moving aerial game where physical fitness is tested to the limits. However, different from both hockey and lacrosse as in Shinty, feet can be used to stop the ball but not the hands (unless you are the goal-keeper). You can carrry the ball on your caman which can be also be swung above shoulder height.....a skilful eye and a sense of survival are paramount!!

The Game Fast moving skilful sport that, like lacrosse is thrilling to watch Played between 2 teams of 12 players Each player is "armed" with a curved stick called a Caman (pronounced ca-man) which has a triangular in section Each game lasts 90 minutes Shinty is a community game played in some of the most remote parts of Scotland The Dell playing fields at Kinguisse are considered by some to be the original home of organised shinty as we know it today. The Rules The fundamental difference between hockey and shinty is that in the game of shinty there is no restriction on the swing of the caman. Players can strike the ball with both sides of the stick - like ice hockey. However, handling and reaching for the ball is not allowed. The "stick" The caman was originally made of ash or hickory cut from a tree with a natural bend, but nowadays modern sticks are made from strips of wood glued together. The shortage of high quality wood in some areas of the country led to experimentation with various other materials such as aluminium but players have always reverted back to the natural product. The Ball The Ball is a similar size to a tennis ball.

The interior is cork and worsted, with an outer cover of leather or a similar approved material. Originally blocks of wood or pieces of cork were used instead of the modern ball until the rules were formally accepted about 100 years ago and the cork ball became the standard. Shinty is still a truly amateur sport, although the level of skill and athletic ability demands great things of the players. Some players travel hugh distances to play and represent the club in competitions. The best teams and players play in the national premier league and there are different grades of the game from school teams to international games. The Glenmorangie Camanachd Cup Knock Out Championship was first played in 1896 and won by Kingussie Annual event with the the cup final normally played on the first Saturday in June. The cup final attracts shinty's biggest crowds of between 3,000 - 5,000. Shinty and Hurling Hurling is played in Ireland with different sticks from shinty players with a broad face. There often are matches between the shinty and the hurling teams on an organised basis. The first games were played in 1897 in Glasgow .

Challenges regularly take place at club level particularly in the summer. Shinty Teams Shinty - Camanachd | HockeyGods Shinty - Camanachd Tweet Shinty - Camanachd - Iomain is a stick and ball game played mainly in the Scottish Highlands , and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland. It is also to be found in a much wider space from the plains of Montevideo in the mid-nineteenth century, to Toronto and Canada’s Maritime Provinces; from the blistering heat of New Year’s Day in Australia over 150 years ago, to Cape Town and also the war-ravaged wastes of Europe through two World Wars. There is now a burgeoning group of players and clubs in the United States of America. The Caman (stick) was originally made of ash or hickory cut from a tree with a natural bend. Modern caman's are mostly made from strips of wood glued together. Some craftsman still produce solid wood caman's.

A caman must conform to the following standard: the head must not be of a size larger than can pass through a ring with a diameter of 2.5 inches (6.3 cms); no plates, screws, or metal in any form shall be attached to or form part of the caman. A player whose caman is broken during a game may play the ball before obtaining a replacement caman, providing the broken caman is not deemed dangerous to himself or another player. The Shinty Ball is a similar size and looks like a baseball with the stiching facing outward. The interior is cork and worsted, with a outer cover of leather or a similar approved material. The original shinty balls were made from tree roots, blocks of wood, pieces of cork, sheep droppings, sheep's vertebrae and India Rubber. Basically anything that could be struck by the caman without breaking up was used. Shinty is one of the fastest, most physically demanding and skillful sports in the world, and is played outdoors in all types of weather. In shinty there is no restriction on the swing of the caman.

Players can strike the ball with both sides of the caman, and play the ball in the air. Handling and reaching for the ball is not allowed, unless you are the goalkeeper. Players may only stop the ball with the caman, the chest, two feet together or one foot on the ground. Only the goalkeeper may use his hands and then only with an open palm. He may not catch it. Kicking the ball is not permitted. You can carry the ball on your caman, which can also be swung above shoulder height. The object of the game is to score goals. A goal can only be scored with the caman; there is no goal when the ball "has been kicked, carried or propelled by hand or arm by a player of the attacking side." A goal can not be scored directly from a free-hit. When the ball goes out of play at the side of the pitch, the 'Shy' is taken by a player who strikes the ball with the narrow side of the stick - a unique skill of shinty. Playing the ball with the head constitutes a foul whether intentional or not as it is considered dangerous play.

Other examples of dangerous play which will be penalised are players, while grounded, playing the ball and reckless swinging of the caman in the air which might endanger another player. There are different forms of shinty from the small-sided game, such as First Shinty for young children taking their first steps in the game to the hugely popular six-a-side tournaments, to the more traditional 12-a-side senior game (or 10-a-side in the case of women's shinty. In women’s shinty and in some competitions for children and young people, there are fewer players in the team and the pitch dimensions are smaller. In men’s shinty there are 12 players in each team – one of whom is always the goalkeeper. Each player has a caman, or curved stick, and it is with the caman that the small leather ball is struck. A well-struck shinty ball can travel over 100 metres at very high speed. Competitive shinty is organised into league and knock-out cup competitions at various levels and grades.

In the men’s game the most coveted trophies are the Camanachd Cup, first played for in 1895 and in women’s shinty the ultimate competition is the Valerie Fraser Cup . Both these events take place in September each year. Internationally shinty is only just developing but an annual match between shinty and the Irish game of hurling (Camogie when played by women) – which have the same historic roots, although each has evolved in its own way – takes place in October. A composite set of rules has been agreed between the Camanachd Association and its Irish counterpart, the Gaelic Athletic Association. The full Rules of Play for shinty are contained in the Camanachd Association’s Bylaws , but variations to these rules, mainly to do with numbers in a team and the dimensions of the field of play, exist for Women's Shinty and for children and young people. The Caman, which is a stick of about 31⁄2 ft long with two slanted faces. Unlike the Irish camán, it has no blade.

The caman is made of wood, traditionally ash but now more commonly hickory with lamanated layers, and must not have any plate or metal attached to it. The caman would be made from any piece of wood with a hook in it, hence caman, from the Scottish and Irish Gaelic word, cam meaning bent or crooked. It can also be called a stick or club. The slant of the face will vary according to the position that the stick is used for. The Ball is a hard solid sphere slightly smaller and looking like a baseball, consisting of a cork core covered by two pieces of leather stitched together. The seam is raised. It is very similar to a hurling sliotar in that it resembles an American baseball with more pronounced stitching. The ball is usually white, but there is no statutory colour, black being a common colour for Kyles Athletic and fluorescent balls now being available. Plastic balls or soft balls are often used in youth competitions such as the variant, "First Shinty". The Pitch playing area is much larger than for other outdoor team sports such as football, rugby or field Hockey. The pitch dimensions can be up to 155m long by 73m.

Although some developmental competions for children and young people take place indoors, or outdoors on artificial surfaces, shinty is primarily an outdoor sport played on a natural grass surface. In 1816 members of the Burgess Golfing Society complained that their play on Bruntsfield Links was being made hazardous by shinty players. One of the most famous early depictions of shinty play is a painting called A Highland Landscape with a Game of Shinty. It is believed to have been painted around 1840, and was attributed to D. Cuncliffe (1826-55) and A. Smith of Mauchline (1840) by Father Ninian MacDonald in the frontispiece of his famous book Shinty. The painting contains all the elements of the (fictional) Highland scene of the time, with a shinty match the central action, pipers, dancers and Lairds set in an idyllic and completely over-romanticised Highland Glen. Charles Altamont Doyle (1832-93) created this watercolor painting - circa 1876.

The painting shows shinty being played on ice at the Duddingston Loch near Edinburgh, Scotland. The painting is held at the National Museum in Edinburgh. There was no event of greater importance in connection with the celebration of the advent of the New Year in the Highlands than the New Year’s Day Shinty Match. Very often ‘A cask of whisky strong’, was the victor’s prize. These contests were often between two districts or parishes, with no limit to the numbers taking part (as many as 2,000 men engaged), from the forenoon until darkness fell. Occasionally a hogs-head of whisky was given to the winners by the proprietor. One of the best sources for determining shinty’s ‘place and space’ is the dictionary. In Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language we find shinty sandwiched between ‘Shinnock’ and ‘Shiolag’. Perhaps more surprisingly however, the English Dialect Dictionary(EDD) records shinham in the north of England, shinnins and shinnop in Yorkshire, and shinny and shinty in the north of England generally, and as far south as Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Gloucestershire.

The dictionary mentions shinty being played in Workington in Cumberland as late as 1888, when two boys were fined for playing the game in the street and a third ‘was let off, having been well thrashed by his parent’. Somewhere along the line of its development into the sport it is today. Shinty was linked to training warriors. It was seen to be the perfect way to develop the skills that would be needed in battle. The Camanachd Association came into being on 10th October 1893, at a meeting held in the Victoria Hall, Kingussie by 23 of the 33 Shinty clubs then in existence. C.J.B. Macpherson of Belleville (now Balavil) was the chairman of the founding conference which formulated a standardised set of rules and elected officers to see that the rules were followed. Simon, Lord Lovat was the first President and three Macphersons were appointed Vice-presidents -- Belleville, Corrimony and Cluny. John Campbell was the first secretary-treasurer. As the sport was developing, different rules were being used in different parts of the country.

With the exception of the Glasgow Celtic Society, whose shinty competition had begun in 1879, there was no proper organisation to lead the development of the sport. What was needed was a body that could lead the development of shinty across the whole of Scotland. This would ensure that there was one set of rules and provide the framework for organising competitions on a national level. And so the Camanachd Association was formed. Shinty Medal from December 25, 1852 - New Edinburgh Scots vs Sassenachs of Bytown Shinty Wheelchair? A Glen Albyn Website Glengarry Shinty Club play their home games at Craigard Park, Invergarry. The Shinty club has great facilities at Craigard, within the clubhouse there are two good- sized changing rooms with showers, referee’s room with shower, a fully equipped kitchen and disabled facilities. Doing their bit for the environment, 2008 saw the Shinty Club awarded a grant towards the installation of Solar Panels to heat the hot water and shower’s.

On the pitch, the Club has one of the best playing surfaces in the game and has been used by the Camanachd Association to host Semi- Finals and Finals. Glengarry Shinty Club are one of only a handful of shinty clubs who are lucky enough to own their own pitch, thanks to the Ellice family, who donated Craigard Park to the Shinty club. The pitch is kept in great condition, thanks to a lot of hard work from volunteers, who work hard to the ensure keep the pitch in tip top condition. If you would like to take up shinty, the club welcomes new players of all ages, gender and ability. Weekly training sessions are held in Fort Augustus for the men’s & women’s teams and the Primary School sessions are held in Invergarry – please contact the Club Secretary, Catherine Cameron on 01809 501 289 for more information.

Alternatively, if you would like to get involved with the Shinty Club without playing, we are always looking for people to help out, so if you think you have a couple of hours a week which you may be able to lend to the Shinty Club to do tasks such as field maintenance, grass cutting, fundraising etc please give Catherine a call. In 1997, Glengarry Women’s Shinty team was established. The Garry Girls became one of only 3 women’s teams in existence, with Dunadd from Lochgilphead & the Oban Camanchereos, what begun as a bit of fun for the Garry Girls has seen them, not only become the driving force in the women’s game but the most successful women’s shinty team ever. Season 2009, saw the Garry Girls complete a clean sweep, winning the National Division One for a record ?? time, winning the Valerie Fraser WCA Camanachd Cup for a record ?? time, winning the Johnstone Trophy for an amazing 11th time, other trophies won included the Alistair Gow Inverness 6’s Shield & the Marine Harvest Clash of the Camans Trophy.

The Garry Girls also fielded a second team in the women’s North Division 2, for the first time and finished in 2nd place behind league winners Badenoch & Strathspey, which was a great achievement for the club. Season 2010 will also see the Garry Girls field a first & a second team. The Women’s Team At present the Club are unable to field teams in the juvenile competitions (U.14 & U17) due to lower school roles, however, at present there up to 25 primary school children attending the weekly coaching sessions run throughout the year and the Club’s development plan is in good stead. The primary school children competed in the Glen Albyn League in season 2009, which was the first competitive outing for most of the children, results didn’t go our way but the children showed great endeavour and ability and by the closure of the league calendar a marked improvement could be seen in their performances. A lot of hard work from the children has seen massive improvement at all Primary age groups and we hope to continue this when we participate in the league this season.

In November 2009, the Shinty Club hosted a friendly invitational Tournament in the Nevis Centre, Fort William, in memory of Maurice Main of Fort Augustus, who was a generous supporter of the Shinty Club. For many of the children, this was their first ever time playing shinty competitively and over 60 children from Glengarry, Lochcarron and Ardnamurchan played over 3 hours of superb shinty, all going home with medals. The Garry Girls made up the bulk of the North Area select team which defeated the South Area Women’s select 3- 1 in season 2009 and saw Glengarry Captain Sarah Corrigal lift what was her 6th trophy in season 2009. In October 2009, 6 players from Glengarry Shinty Club were selected to represent the Women’s Scotland Shinty Team, with Glengarry’s Laura MacKay chosen to Captain the National Side. Unfortunately the Women’s team were beaten by a strong Irish team but a great weekend was had by all the Garry Girls!

Glengarry’s Karen Cameron is also the Women’s Camanachd Association’s President, having been re- elected for her 5th term at the helm in November 2009, Karen is a popular choice as President by all the Women’s Shinty Clubs. The Men’s Team Annual Women’s 5 a- side Shinty Tournament Glengarry Girls hosted their annual in- door 5 a- side Johnstone Trophy at Nevis Centre Fort William on Saturday 29th January. The teams who took part were:- Badenoch & Strathspey A & B; Ardnamurachan; Lochaber; Strathglass A & B; Aberdour; Dunadd and Glengarry A & B., with the competition play on a 2 league basis Glengarry A & B won their respective leagues with Aberdour and Badenoch & Strathspey A runners- up In the first semi- final Glengarry B took on Aberdour and what a game this was.

Glengarry went 3 – 0 up but Aberdour came back to level it at 3 – 3 and then went 4 – 3 up, back came the Garry to level and once again Aberdour went ahead but again the Garry made the score level in regular time. Into extra time the Garry youngsters once again showed great determination to not only come from behind again but take the lead and keep it to run our winners 7 – 6. In the 2nd semi- final Glengarry A took on Badenoch & Strathspey in a reply of last years final. After a nervous start by both teams Badenoch & Strathspey took the lead before half time. The Glengarry Girls tried hard but could not find the net and towards the end with the GG’s on all out attack Badenoch & Strathspey broke away and scored twice more to run out 3 – 0 winners. Badenoch & Strathspey A - v- Glengarry B in the final In the final Badenoch & Strathspey romped to an early lead and were 2 – 0 up at Half Time.

But once again the Garry youngsters showed great determination to fight back and level the tie at 2 – 2. In extra time the Garry Girls pressed all out for the winner but Badenoch & Strathspey stood firm and the tie ended 2 – 2 Now into penalties: Glengarry manager surprised the spectators by electing to make 12year old Zoey Smith one of the 3 penalty takers. Badenoch & Strathspey won the toss and elected to go 1st and scored then up stepped young Zoey and smashed her penalty high into the back of the net. Badenoch & Strathspey’s next two penalties were saved by the ‘perhaps not so young’ Garry goalkeeper Linda Henderson for the Garry Girls to once again lift the trophy – the 11th time in its history. Ailsa Johnstone the sponsor of this trophy for now thirteen years presented to The Garry Girls captain Kate Tuer.

The award for the Player of the Tournament went to Badenoch & Strathspey’s Jeanette MacGregor The Girls wish to thank all teams and players for their participation, The Nevis Centre for their facilities, all the helpers and a ‘huge’ thank you to Ailsa for sponsoring this event – the longest running tournament in Women’s Shinty Congratulations 3rd September 2011 The Strathdearn cup final took place at Drumnadrochit on Saturday 3rd September between Glengarry & Newtonmore. Having played and been beaten in a two previous meetings this season Glengarry were wary of a strong Newtonmore side. Both sides settled quickly with both going close in the opening minutes. Newtonmore opened the scoring in the 7th minute when Chris Sellar fired home from close in. The Garry upped the pace and tried to force an equaliser but Newtonmore latched on to a miss- hit clearance and Chris Sellar again fired home from 12 yards. Despite being rocked by this Glengarry came storming back and Kenneth Henderson fired home from close range in the 20th minute.

In the 27th minute Newtonmore broke free and Ross Aitken fired home to put Newtonmore 3 – 1 ahead. Again Glengarry’s reponse was immediate when Stephen Brady fired home from 10 yards. The Garry now had the upperhand but could not force an equaliser Half Time 3 – 2 The second half was very competitive with both sides going close on several occasions.. Glengarry probably had the best of the chances but could not find away through a strong Newtonmore defence. Glengarry played well and were disappointed not to force a draw but should take heart for reaching the final and for ‘giving their all’ against a strong Newtonmore team Valerie Fraser Women’s Camanachd Cup Final Newtonmore – 10.09.11 v- Glengarry Glengarry Girls travelled to Newtonmore looking to make it a hat trick of Valerie Fraser Cup Final wins Aberdour settled the quicker and forced the Garry Girls to defend but as always the Girls defence was very solid and gave nothing away.

The Garry Girls started to get a grip of the game and it came as no surprise in the 20th minute when youngsters Ashley Fraser and Laura Gallacher combined well with Laura firing into the net from 15metres. Aberdour kept plugging away and went close in 32mins when Katy Smith fired just over the bar following a free hit. The Garry were starting to turn up the pace and went close before the forwards combined well to put youngster Isla MacKay through on goal where she promptly despatched the ball into the net Half Time 2 - 0 The Garry Girls mid field were now dictating play and feeding the forwards. However, the girls up front appeared to be having something of an ‘off day’ and squandered numerous chances before Paige MacDonald fired home from an acute angle to put the Garry Girls 3 – 0 ahead. Aberdour, however, did not give up and created several chances of their own but overall Glengarry had the upper hand and in the 78th minute full centre Lucy MacNulty found herself alone on the edge of the box from where she fired the ball high into the roof of the net.

Unfortunately Aberdour’s Katy Smith sustained a nasty hand injury in the final minutes. The Garry Girls ran out 4 – 0 winners but Aberdour can be proud of their display in just their first year in this league and there can be no doubt they will be back. Laura Gallacher of Glengarry won the player of the tournament award that was well deserved. Elaine Wink captain was presented the cup and black caman by sponsor Peter Gow Fixtures & Results GLENGARRY SHINTY CLUB DEVELOPMENT DAY – 04.10.15 Following last year’s success it was decided to hold Glengarry’ s development day again and hopefully make it an annual event. John MacAuley (OJ Sports) started the afternoon with coaching for all ages from P1 onwards which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Next was the 6 a- side games and Glengarry much appreciates Inverness accepting the invitation and travelling to take part in the P5 & P7 games.

Also to Kinlochshiel who at short notice came along to compete in the U14’s Winners, runners up and player of the tournament prizes were present by John MacAuley Inverness won the Primary 5s and under game and the player of the tournament went to Glengarry’s player Fergus Donald Glengarry overcame Inverness in the Primary 7s and under with the player of the tournament going to Glengarry’s Cameron Bremner A closer battle with the U`14 competition with Glengarry coming out winners on goal difference and the player of the tournament winner was Duncan Mathieson from Kinlochshiel The Camanachd Cup’ was on display a big THANK YOU to Lovat shinty club for letting us borrow it for the day.

Players and visitors alike were ‘taken’ with the grandeur of this trophy Activities from Great Glen Adventures and Fort William Bouncy Castle Hire were appreciated by all Glengarry are indebted to referee Neil Ferguson who officiated, volunteer helpers who contributed in making the day such a success; Glengarry Trust, Sports Scotland and Blue Energy for financial contributions towards the cost; Everyone who donated to stalls and attending, your generosity is much appreciated Frequently Asked Questions: WNBA - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA Frequently Asked Questions: WNBA What is the WNBA? The Women’s National Basketball Association, or WNBA, is a professional basketball league comprised of 12 teams featuring the best women’s basketball players in the world. When was the WNBA established? The WNBA was founded on April 24, 1996, and the first season began in 1997. The 2016 season is the 20th in league history. How many teams are there in the WNBA? Currently there are 12 teams – six in each conference. The conferences are divided between the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.

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The Lottery Team with the worst two-year cumulative record has 442 chances out of 1,000 to win the first pick, the Lottery Team with the second worst two-year cumulative record has 276 chances out of 1,000, the Lottery Team with the third worst two-year cumulative record has 178 chances out of 1,000, and the Lottery Team with the best two-year cumulative record having 104 chances out of 1,000 to win the first pick. Tiebreakers are based solely on the immediately preceding season. How many players are on a WNBA roster? Each WNBA team has a maximum roster size of 12 players, as outlined in the league’s CBA. How long are the quarters? Each quarter of play in the WNBA lasts 10 minutes. How long is the shot clock? Just like the NBA, the shot clock is 24 seconds. What do WNBA players do in the offseason? While the WNBA season is an action-packed 34 games, many players spend their offseasons continuing to play the game of basketball.

Many travel overseas to play in leagues in Russia, Israel, or Italy, just to name a few. Some players also participate with other national teams in tournament competitions, such as FIBA qualifying. What are the rules of the WNBA? Download the 2016 rule book here . What are the other measurements? Just like the NBA, rims in the WNBA hang 10 feet from the floor, sitting on opposite ends of a court that’s 50 feet wide and 94 feet long. Both ends of the floor feature a free throw line, 15 feet from the rim. Per the WNBA rule book, “the three-point field goal area has parallel lines 36″ from the sidelines, extending 63″ from the baseline and an arc of 22’13 /4″ from the middle of the basket which intersects the parallel lines.” The basketball itself has a circumference within a maximum of 29 inches and a minimum of 28.5 inches and has a pressure between 7.5 and 8.6 pounds. Where can I buy tickets to WNBA games? Want to take in some Summer Hoops live and in person?

Tickets for every team are available on each team website or by clicking here. The Unofficial 2013 NBA Player Census - Best Tickets Blog The Unofficial 2013 NBA Player Census October 29, 2013 By Andrew Powell-Morse 12 Comments This year sure has gone by quickly. It seems like just yesterday that the Spurs and Heat were duking it out in the NBA Finals. Now, here we are at the end of October, and the start of a new NBA season is upon us. With NFL action in full swing as well, this is the very best time of the year for many sports fans. Many of you enjoyed one my previous articles, The Unofficial 2013 NFL Player Census , so as a follow up and in celebration of this new season of basketball, I decided to create a similar article for the NBA. I hope you enjoy! Analyzing Each Position Below, a chart showing the number of players at each position in the NBA There are considerably more dedicated guards than any other position in the NBA. More than double the number of centers, the number of players who “flex” between guard and forward or the number of players who “flex” between forward and center.

Perhaps the one thing we can draw from this is that the classic dedicated center position may be losing demand. As evidence of this, consider how versatile big men like Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and even Dirk Nowitzki have thrived in the NBA. Let’s see if the chart below, detailing salary by position helps support this claim. While dedicated centers demand the second highest average salary, it is indeed the more versatile forward/center flex player that demands the highest paycheck. This supports the claim that the more versatile big man is more valuable in the modern NBA. For good measure, let’s look at each position’s durability. According to this chart, guards have the shortest expected career length of any position in the NBA. There are a few easily recognizable reasons for this, including the decrease in speed that comes with age, as well as the generally hazardous style of play many guards have adopted (Derrick Rose anyone?). Here we see another indicator of the decreased value of the dedicated center as well. Player Size We’ll briefly look at the size of players in the NBA. Below, every single one of them on a height/weight scatter plot. There is some overlap here, so there are fewer visible dots than there are actual players.

Now for a look at each team’s average height… …and average weight. Overall, the 76ers have the largest team in the NBA, and the Jazz have the smallest. Where Do NBA Players Come From? Unlike the NFL, the NBA is home to many players from outside the United States. This adds an interesting element to the league. Where would the Spurs be without Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili? The Mavs without Dirk Nowitzki? These overseas ballers have real talent and the NBA is really starting to embrace this fact. Below, the non-US countries that have produced NBA players. None of the countries that have produced four or more NBA players are too surprising to see. It’s the ones like Congo and Senegal that really impress. These countries are among the most impoverished in the world, particularly the Congo. The likelihood of making it out of one of these countries to become a superstar multi-millionaire athlete is slim to none. Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo are the two Congolese individuals currently playing in the NBA, and they deserve some recognition. Below, the teams who currently have non-US players on their roster. The Spurs kill this category.

Not only are they the only team who is mostly imported, more than 70% of the team is from a country other than the United States. As one of the best teams of the past three decades, do you think they might have caught on to something here? Moving on to the United States, we’ll take a look at each of the states to have produced NBA players. California nearly doubles the production of any other state. In fact, California accounts for about 12% of the players currently in the NBA. Only 39 states have produced current NBA players and three of them have produced just one. While California seems to be a player factory, it does gain an advantage when you consider its population of more than 38,000,000. Which states are producing the most NBA players per capita? If you’ll backtrack to the NFL Census published previously on the Best Tickets blog, you’ll see that Louisiana is tops in player production efficiency for both the NFL and the NBA. This is really quite remarkable. Can we give this state an award or something for this? Indiana, home of the Hoosiers, comes in a surprisingly distant second, followed closely by Arkansas.

The least productive states to have produced more than one current NBA player are Oklahoma (.08 per million), Arizona (.31 per million) and Virginia (.37 per million). The cities that have produced the most players are shown below. California’s largest metropolis, Los Angeles, heads up this list and is followed closely by New York City, a notoriously basketball-crazy city. The most efficient cities, however may not be as familiar. Saginaw, Michigan wins this one by a long shot. Second-place Baton Rouge produces at less than half the rate of Saginaw. The current players out of Saginaw are Kenyon Martin of the Knicks, Draymond Green of the Warriors and Jason Richardson of the 76ers. Race in the NBA There is a caveat to this section, and its name is Jeremy Lin. As the only individual currently in the league with Asian ethnicity, it was very difficult to portray him on the graph below, which displays the race distribution of the NBA. With nearly 75% of the NBA population, black players are the vast majority. Next up, white players with 20.2%.

Hispanic and mixed players both account for 3.7%, and Asian players (Jeremy Lin, in case you forgot) account for .02% of the players in the NBA. Combine all the other races in the NBA, and double them and they still don’t come close to matching the black population. Below, I detail the race distribution of each team. The team with the highest concentration of black players is the 76ers, and they are followed closely by the Pacers. The Spurs have the highest concentration of white players in the NBA by a longshot. The Clippers and Warriors have the highest percentage of mixed race players, and the Timberwolves have the highest concentration of Hispanic players. You already know who has the highest concentration of Asian players. The Timberwolves are the only team in the NBA whose roster does not contain at least 50% black players. How do players of each race get paid on average? Don’t forget the Jeremy Lin rule.

Some of the players making up the mixed column include Brook Lopez ($14,693,906), Steph Cury ($9,887,640), Kris Humphries ($12,000,000), Blake Griffin ($16,441,500) and Joakim Noah ($11,100,000). The Hispanic category includes Pau Gasol ($19,285,850), and his brother Marc ($14,860,524). The Player Factories Many of the players in the NBA went to college before going pro. Below, the schools that have produced the most players currently in the NBA. Some very familiar names here for fans of NCAA basketball. Really all of these teams are basketball powerhouses year-in and year-out. The top players from Kentucky include Eric Bledsoe, Anthony Davis, Tayshaun Prince, Rajon Rondo, Nerlens Noel, Demarcus Cousins, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and John Wall. Players from Duke include Carlos Boozer, Gerald Henderson, Kyrie Irving, Luol Deng, and Shane Battier.

Now, which school’s players average the highest NBA salaries? Wake Forest runs away with this one. The biggest contracts for former Demon Deacons include Chris Paul ($18,668,431), Tim Duncan ($10,361,446) and Jeff Teague ($8,000,000). As far as position specialties, Kentucky heads up the center and guard position with four and eight current players respectively. Duke and Kansas have both produced six current NBA forwards. Vets and Rooks Steve Nash and Derek Fisher are officially the oldest players in the NBA at 39 years old. Technically, Steve Nash is older than Fisher by about six months. The youngest player in the league is Giannis Antetokounmpo (18), who was born when Nash and Fisher were 20 years old. Some players have the durability to last much longer than others. Take Tim Duncan for example, whose level of play at age 37 is hardly distinguishable from his level of play when he was 27. Below, the age distribution of players in the NBA. The heaviest concentration of NBA players comes between ages 22 and 25.

This group accounts for 38.44% of the NBA population. The salary x age distribution chart below tells an unfortunate tale for this group. The average salary of players between the ages of 22 and 25 is $3,258,176. That’s 41% of the league average, which is $7,893,549. At age 25, however players tend to start making decent money. At age 28, players have the best chance of making big money. After age 32, the trend for salary becomes very difficult to predict. Heat, Nets, Knicks, Spurs, Lakers, Bulls, Clippers, Pacers, Grizzlies. What do these teams have in common? 1. They were all playoff teams last year. 2. They are all one of the top ten oldest teams in the league. Of the top ten youngest teams, only the Bucks and the Rockets made it to the playoffs last year. That does it for our analysis of the Unofficial 2013 Player NBA Census. We hope you enjoyed it, and have walked away with some new knowledge. Here’s to another excellent NBA season!

The raw data for this piece is available for download by clicking one of the two buttons below.

Question: How many players are there on a Shinty team?
Answer: 12